Rowley Gallery framed coloured inlay wood panel

'The Goblin Market'

After the poem by Christina Rossetti

Designed by W.A. Chase

Rowley Gallery

Circa 1920

Height 78cm. Width 78cm

This item is currently on display at Liberty, London 4th Floor, Furniture Department

This wood panel is a wonderful example of the ability of the Rowley Gallery's skilled craftsmen to create a decorative piece of art which interprets and depicts a poem with the use of coloured inlay woods. This design by W A Chase is known to have at least one other version with variations to the animals and girl (see image). A design for a Goblin Market from William Chase's sketchbook depicts a girl eating fruit and surrounded by goblins .

Goblin Market (composed in April 1859 and published in 1862) is a narrative poem by Christina Rossetti. It tells the story of Laura and Lizzie who are tempted with fruit by goblin merchants.In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claimed that the poem, which is interpreted frequently as having features of remarkably sexual imagery, was not meant for children. However, in public Rossetti often stated that it was intended for children, and went on to write many children's poems. When it appeared in her first volume of poetry, Goblin Market and Other Poems, it was illustrated by her brother, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Ref: Wikipedia